


Raison D'etre

by Reyanth



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Sibling Incest, threesome?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:09:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24805228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reyanth/pseuds/Reyanth
Summary: Following Leona's overblot incident, Farena storms into the Savanaclaw dorm to scold his younger brother for scaring him half to death. In the midst of high emotion, old feelings are stirred and hard-won resolve is demolished, bringing the two brothers—once torn apart by the weight of the crown—back into each other's arms.
Relationships: Farena Kingscholar/Leona Kingscholar, Farena Kingscholar/Leona Kingscholar/Malleus Draconia, Malleus Draconia/Leona Kingscholar
Comments: 37
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another day, another pairing. (I swear I'm caught in an attention deficit wonderland these days.) The JP fandom has a huge running start on this pairing, and I missed a step and went tumbling down the rabbit hole today...and then immediately went to work on this, finishing it in record time. Not my most sophisticated work, and I may tweak it over time, but I figure I'm not the only one craving a bit of this pairing, so I won't delay posting it for now.

The world was somewhat of a haze, like a watercolor still running with over-saturated paint. That haze seemed to soak into his limbs, making them fuzzy and heavy, until he couldn't even push the hair out of his face, simply enduring the discomfort of it with every slight movement or breath.

Resting off the magical and physical exertion of overblot, Leona was desperately trying to save as much energy as possible, because it would only be a matter of time before—

"Where is that fool? I'll see him, right now!"

"Leona-san, you awake? It's just that His Highness—"

"Get out of here, Bucchi! Leona! Do you hear me? Leona!"

Wasting his breath on a groan, Leona lifted his hand to his eyes with great effort, pressing on them before warily blinking them open. His vision was only mildly blurred. Before he could react, a mighty growl broke over his face, and he was lifted slightly off the mattress by the front of his shirt, bunched in a tight fist. 

It wasn't difficult to imagine the kind of scolding he was in for. Instead, Leona gathered his strength and jumped ahead to the first response that came to mind before he could cop it.

"What do you care if I die? The line is secure. You don't need me. Never have."

The hold on his clothes went lax and he flopped back down to the mattress, breathing out a sigh of relief, yet feeling disappointingly unsatisfied. He wanted Farena to argue. He always wanted Farena to argue.

What he didn't see coming were the tears that splashed down on his face and neck before Farena's face burrowed into his chest and his brother cried for several long minutes. It was baffling.

"How can you still say that when you know I..."

Hearing a soft scrape, Leona cracked an eyelid, cutting his brother off. "Ruggie, get the hell out and don't let anybody else get by you until I say so, you got that!?"

Surprised at being caught eavesdropping by such a drowsy Leona, Ruggie bolted, shouting the obligatory affirmative as he went.

With a heavy sigh, Leona brought his arm about his brother's tense frame, feeling a little of Farena's energy transfer into him, rejuvenating his depleted reserves just enough that he felt chastened for his hasty words. All the same, Farena was acting like this one event changed anything between them, and it didn't. Farena had chosen. He didn't get to have it all his way.

While his body lay limp under Farena's weight, Leona's fingertips moved slightly, playing with Farena's hair, so familiar and so nostalgic. This time, he selected his words more carefully.

"You're a dad now. You have a family."

"You are my—"

"Yeah, and that should be the first reason you don't come in here crying about loving me and shit, you idiot!"

Rising over him, Farena took on that implacable, kingly visage that Leona had always struggled to contend with, because everything in him wanted to pledge utter and complete loyalty to this majestic liege who just happened to be his older brother.

"Don't pretend you're innocent," Farena growled.

"Huh? You're the one who keeps molesting me, you pervert!"

Leona might have said more, but he was still feeling the effects of utter exhaustion, and he lost the will to fight for a moment when that look came into Farena's eyes that always melted him, tip to tail. He waited...but Farena didn't kiss him.

"I'd never harm you," Farena whispered. "I'd never do anything you didn't want."

That might be up for debate, but Leona had to grudgingly admit that he wasn't entirely devoid of blame for the on-off physical relationship he and his older brother had shared from the time he hit puberty to Farena's coronation. He didn't much care for constrictive rules that often seemed arbitrary. It wasn't like either of them could get pregnant, so what did it matter if the two brothers acted on their mutual desire for one another?

Then again, part of him wished he could bear a child, because then he wouldn't have had to watch Farena step into his kingly duties and take a mate, putting an inordinate amount of effort into getting an heir on her. At first, he'd thought he could live with it if Farena just chose to be with him, anyway...but Farena had become distant, avoiding him and turning into a sickeningly doting father and responsible ruler. Luckily, Leona hadn't had to stick around long after that before he could escape to Nightraven. That was a small mercy, because every time he was around Farena, he felt gutted, his unhealed emotional scars twinging.

One little incident, and now Farena was crying to him, claiming to love him, trying to seduce him into saying he wanted...

But he did want. Oh, how he wanted.

Did it matter why Farena was suddenly changing his tune after all this time? Who knew how long it would last, so he should make the best of it while he could...

Not prepared to let Farena think rejection could be an option, he wove his hand into sunset hair and pulled his brother's lips down to his, biting softly as they parted for him. It was as if they had kissed every single day since they first learned how. Their lips remembered each other with ease, and their tongues danced and sparred, until Leona gave in to Farena's expert caress with a moan.

However, even as Farena's hands glided under his shirt, stroking his skin, Leona felt his strength slipping. His eyes closed heavily and his hands slid to his sides.

"I can't," he whispered.

"We can work this out... Leona?"

"Just hold me," Leona breathed.

He was pathetically grateful when Farena did exactly that, gently shifting him to make room at the edge of the bed and laying his head to rest at the crook of Leona's shoulder. His brother's deep, heavy breaths lulled him like a warm wind as he drifted off into sleep.

*

A sun-bleached red mane dominated his line of sight as the world came back into focus. For a moment, the whole world seemed perfect, just as it had the first time he awoke from a nap out on the plains, entwined with his beloved elder brother. Then, memory rushed in, and Leona's heart jerked in his chest. This wasn't their reality anymore. Farena was king now, and Leona was nothing to him but a loser brother who couldn't even win a damn Magic Shift tournament.

Struggling to sit up, Leona was relieved to find he had regained most of his strength, but Farena was heavy, and short of just dumping him out of the bed, it wasn't easy to get out from under him. His wriggling woke his brother from a deep, and evidently peaceful sleep.

Yawning his way into a smile, Farena gazed up at him, his chin perched contentedly on Leona's chest.

"Sleep well?" Farena asked.

Leona very much wanted to reply with a snide comment, but the truth was, he had slept well—very well. When he was with Farena, he always slept like a lamb.

All at once, he was tired of the seesawing complication of his feelings for Farena and struggling to regain his footing after they were cut loose. He just wanted to be close again. If Farena was willing to try again, Leona should just...

"I should go."

In mere moments, as the pall of sleep fell away, Farena's mood changed completely. His expression grew stern and he started to pull away.

At once, Leona knew this was his only chance to regain what he'd lost. If he let Farena go now, he would lose his brother forever, in every way, because he couldn't play at a happy family with a man who chose to set him aside.

"Don't," he begged.

Every emotion he had experienced since Farena became king was ground into that one, tense word. His fingers tightened on Farena's arm, pulling just lightly enough to make his wishes clear. Farena's eyes flared with anguish, but he responded to that touch, lunging forward and kissing Leona with a deep need that healed years of rejection.

There was nothing to be said to that—not with words, at any rate. Farena surged over him, lifting his shirt and pulling it free so that his skin was bared to the muggy evening air of the Savanaclaw dorm territory. 

All of a sudden, Leona remembered where they were and that he had no idea how long he had slept or who might be in the vicinity. He tried to sit up, but Farena pinned him down, looking smug.

"Don't worry," he purred. "That little hyena of yours is surprisingly devoted. He hasn't let a single person in here since you gave the order." His mouth descended, but hovered just above Leona's throat, hesitating. "It doesn't matter," he murmured.

Before Leona could ask what he was talking about, Farena's teeth clamped around his skin, pulling at it and worrying it before letting go. He followed the bite with several swipes of the tongue and then migrated downwards. The possessive aggression of each ensuing bite was what clued Leona in to the oddly satisfying fact that Farena was jealous.

It was stupid, really. Did Farena really expect Leona to just mope about while he was off spawning cubs? The difference was, Ruggie and the others were just casual, physical flings that scratched a mutual itch. It wasn't like Leona had ever had feelings for anyone other than Farena...and he hadn't once let himself be taken since their last time together.

When it came down to it, Farena was the only person he'd ever really trusted, and that trust was important to Leona. Remembering how he'd once felt, he found it building in him again, but that trust had been broken over recent years, and he wasn't sure he was ready to embrace it again. Still, he wanted to heal the rift between he and Farena, and his body was eagerly doing some of that heavy lifting, already.

He moaned, tossing his head back against the pillow as Farena's mouth closed over his erection, his hands busily working Leona's pants down to his knees. Writhing and kicking them off, Leona spread his thighs a little, bending his knees to better press his hips upward in search of more heat and suction. Farena's arm settled over his waist, holding him down as the king himself sucked his little brother's cock with abandon.

Perhaps Leona had changed a little over the years, because the sordid truth of that realization hit him hard, sending waves of heat rolling through his body. He panted, his jaw dropping as he watched Farena's head work between his thighs.

It was as though Farena felt he had something to prove, as though he were trying to make up for the years of abandonment by debasing himself with such enthusiasm. His eyes were lit with an intense resolve, sparking as they flicked up to meet Leona's awed gaze.

Dribbling spit to slicken the way, Farena slid his fingers up between Leona's thighs, and he rubbed the knuckle of his index finger up and down over the tight ring of muscle still opposed to his invasion. The touch made Leona gasp, and his body tensed. All at once he was both eager and afraid.

He reached down, winding his hand into Farena's wild hair and closing his fist to pull it tightly between his fingers. "Stop," he breathed. "Wait." 

As his cock slipped from Farena's mouth, Leona took several steadying breaths, trying to get his thoughts in order. What did he need to get past this? 

"Promise me," he whispered. "Promise me you won't just fuck me and then walk away again. If you can do that..."

Reaching up, Farena took the hand that rested atop Leona's belly, entwining their fingers together. He rested his chin down on Leona's thigh, wearing a look of such tenderness that it tugged at Leona's heart.

"I've missed you so much, little brother," he said, rubbing his cheek against the soft round of Leona's muscular thigh. "I don't think I can stand to lose you again, not if we do this now."

That was comforting, but as long as Farena's resolve went untested, how could Leona believe in it? His mouth drying out, he reluctantly brought a name to the tip of his tongue, afraid to find out how the sound of it affected Farena's rediscovered affection.

"What about...Cheka?"

There was a small waver in Farena's eyes, but he soon overcame it, his lips spreading into a smile that spelled trouble. How Leona had missed that smile...

"You mean, what will I do when he gets old enough to challenge me for your ass?"

Leona balked. "Don't even say that!"

Laughing, Farena twisted his fingers and began to stroke Leona's entrance again, pressing lightly to test resilience. "I suppose you're right," said the king. "It's bad enough that his dad and his uncle are complete degenerates."

If Leona had anything to say about that, it was swallowed up in a whimper as Farena pushed his index finger inside. He wasn't exactly subtle about it, but he knew Leona well enough to understand that a little discomfort for a short while was preferable to prolonged caution. He also seemed to have sensed exactly when Leona's reservations had fallen away, because there was no more hesitation as Farena stretched and prepared him. When his brother crawled up over him, dragging his hand free and replacing it with the head of his swollen cock, it was Leona who pressed his hips forward, wordlessly urging Farena to take him.

He arched up against Farena's strong body as that rigid length climbed his passage, forcing him open. His clawed nails tore at bunched muscles, and his teeth latched onto an earlobe along with a tuft of hair. His body screamed, but he couldn't identify the sensation as pain, pleasure, or anything in between. He just felt shaken to his core. This was what it was to be with Farena. He was always overwhelmed beyond all sense. As much as he'd missed it, he'd also been relieved by the absence of this loss of control, as though he lost his mind whenever Farena was inside of him.

Yet, he wasn't the only one who had changed and grown during their time apart. Ceasing the motion of his hips, Farena slid his arm under Leona, cradling him. The king's expression was solemn, almost mesmerized. 

"Leona," he murmured. "Look at me."

Swallowing heavily, Leona did, for a moment, but the heat that swelled in his cheeks when their eyes locked forced him to look away, sucking in a breath of air to calm the flutter in his belly.

"Look at me, Leona."

He tried again. This time, he was able to hold Farena's gaze for a little longer before squeezing his eyes shut in embarrassment.

Lips he didn't tend to associate with gentleness pressed softly against his own, prying them apart and then receding. 

"I promise I won't run from you again...as long as you don't run from me."

At last, something clicked within Leona... Had he always done this? Whenever Farena took him, he almost blanked out, as if to hide from the fact that he was hopelessly in love with his brother, and overwhelmed by what that did to his body.

His fingertips curled, clutching at Farena's skin as he fought his fears, and then relaxed. He opened his eyes and stared up into the most beautiful green orbs, like the rain-fed grass of the plains. Farena was asking him to accept what they were, and to be completely present. If he couldn't manage that, they couldn't move forward.

Tilting his head back into the pillow until he was staring down his nose at Farena, Leona rolled his hips, encouraging his brother to continue. All the way, he kept his eyes open and locked onto Farena's face.

Immediately, he felt the difference. The helpless sensation he had always been unable to identify was gone, replace with a certainty that he was loved and wanted like nothing he had ever felt before. As Farena moved within him, Leona swelled with a combination of emotion and pleasure that made his body buzz. He grasped Farena's arm with one hand while the other wrapped around his cock, all the while rocking his hips to meet each rolling thrust and staring right into his brother's eyes—up until the very moment he reached a sudden and powerful orgasm.

In complete sync with him, Farena's jaw dropped open and he hissed out his pleasure, shuddering as his hips came to a halt. They were locked in climax together, and Leona forced his eyes open again so that every minute detail—each dilation and retraction of Farena's pupils, every gust of trembling breath, every twitch of lips and eyebrows—was burned into Leona's retinas. 

When the immediate effects passed, Leona's body went lax, but he held onto Farena, still holding that beautiful green gaze. Eventually, his brother pulled out, hunting around for something to wipe them both down with. Leona blindly patted about for a towel Ruggie always stashed under one of the pillows and ran it over his wet, sticky flesh before dabbing down Farena. He tossed the towel aside and gave in to the lethargy that sucked him into the comfort of the mattress.

Crawling up beside him, Farena nudged him onto his side, curling around him and wrapping him up in strong arms with a kiss behind the ear. They were silent for a while, listening to the sounds of the dorm's waterfall, and each other's breath.

It was nice, but there was a lingering weight that began to press down upon them. Leona didn't really like talking, but he didn't feel comfortable ignoring what they'd come through to get here, either. He just didn't know where to begin. Discussing his own breakthrough seemed pointless, but there was something else nagging at him, something about how sudden this all was... 

He considered how quickly Farena had come around, and slowly arrived at the conclusion that nothing had actually changed for Farena, meaning that he'd been concealing this depth of feeling from Leona and everyone else for years. That can't have been easy. If Farena loved him as much as he claimed—and Leona had surely felt the truth of it—then it must have cloven his heart to break things off between them, so why had he done it? Was he scared of being found out by his mate? If so, why risk it now? Was it the prospect of becoming a father that had daunted and confused him? Fatherhood had always seemed to come so naturally to him, though... If there was one solid reason Leona could imagine, it was the one thing he found he couldn't really understand, and that made another thing painfully clear to him...

"I couldn't do what you did," he said, squeezing Farena's hand in his. "Guess I'm not kingly material, after all."

Farena was silent for a moment, holding Leona tightly with his lips pressed against a bare shoulder. "I hope you never have to become king—and not just for the obvious reasons," he said, probably referring to the fact that Cheka was next in line for the throne. "To become king..." Farena sat up, pushing Leona down flat onto his back. There were tears in his eyes. "I lost you." He looked frightened, and Leona wished he could take away whatever pain it was that still haunted him. He reached up to cup Farena's cheek, ready to catch any tears that dared to fall. "And even now that I have you back, I might do so again," Farena gushed, revealing his secret fear. "I can't bear that, Leona. You have to stay selfish for me, and never let me go." He held Leona's hand to his skin, turning his face to kiss the palm. "Don't let me go."

Damn him for putting the responsibility—of lack of it—on Leona. Damn him for begging. Damn him for being such a damn good king.

Leona sighed. "I'd hate you if I didn't love you."

"Then I'm glad you love me," Farena responded, smiling just a little. "Because if the last few years have taught me anything, it's that you're my raison d'etre. I can't go on in a world where you hate me—or a world without you in it." His expression turned hard, and suddenly it was the ruler who stared down angrily at Leona. "Don't ever abuse your magic like that again, do you hear me? That's an order from your king."

Provoked by every single trigger packed into that abuse of power, Leona growled. "Go to hell."

Farena growled right back. "Your king just gave you an order. You will respond accordingly."

A shudder went through Leona, and he found himself adversely attracted not just to his lover, not just to his brother, but—for the first time—to his king, as well. "...Yes, Sire," he muttered, reluctantly. "I hear you...and obey."

"Very good." Just like that, Farena switched personas again, smiling that troublesome smile and leaning down until their faces were so close their noses bumped. "Now your lover has an order... Kiss me, so I know I'm not dreaming."

Obliging, Leona surged up and rolled, pinning his brother down to the bed and punishing him for the audacity of ordering him about by royal decree with a blistering kiss that had them both caught between a purr and a growl for a good, long minute.

*

To the dismay of a certain bored, tired hyena therian, the two royal pains in the ass completely forgot about him and the rest of the dorm, leaving Ruggie to stand guard until Farena left in the early hours of the morning before stumbling wearily to the foot of Leona's bed and curling up. He wrinkled his nose, both aroused and annoyed by the overpowering smell of sex that permeated every inch of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Click on the "next chapter" button, because it's not over yet!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malleus learns of Leona's dirty little secret, but his response is not what Leona would have expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look what got an update!!! I just couldn't resist. I love these pairings too much not to roll with the ideas that started whispering at me.

It was Sebek whose rant about Leona Kingscholar's childish insecurities tipped him off. It had never even occurred to Malleus that his unrivaled magical skill might tip the magic shift scales unfairly. In fact, he wasn't particularly interested in the sport, and considered his participation to be an obligation to the school and to his dorm. That someone like Leona―who was fiercely competitive and took magic shift awfully seriously―was driven to despair over something he himself hardly valued came to Malleus as a shock.

To his eyes, the overblot incident had seemed to come out of nowhere. Yet, as Sebek ranted on about natural ability and accepting the grand order of the world, Malleus gradually became aware of the predicament he had unwittingly fostered.

The more Sebek crowed on, the more Malleus began to understand what had led Leona to that fateful state of berserk rage. He began to comprehend a concept that was utterly foreign to him: the unfairness of destiny.

Had the subject of Sebek's rant been any other, Malleus might not have thought twice about it. Leona, however... The therian prince was majestic, and so charismatic in a way Malleus would never be. Though hardly personable, there was something about him that invited affection in many of their peers, and Malleus was hardly immune. Moreover, while Leona may not have the raw talent Malleus was endowed with, he was quite impressive in the context of his mortal heritage, and his simultaneous penchant for shirking study yet rapidly evolving by putting in the work when pressed made for a fascinating conundrum to a natural prodigy like Malleus.

Thus, rather than letting Sebek's indignant lecture filter in through one ear and out the other, or taking it at face value, Malleus learned that which lay between the lines. He learned about a prince worthy of the crown who would never become king. He learned about a skilled practitioner of magic who would always rank second due to unlucky timing of enrollment. He learned of a potentially brilliant mind stuck in repetition of the same subject matter now three years running. He learned that he himself was a catalyst in Leona's undoing.

What he took away from these revelations was not a sense of pity, but of partial responsibility...and interest. He found he wanted to learn more of Leona. Perhaps there was something he could do to relieve some of the pressure from the cornered therian's shoulders.

By the time Sebek's fuming tirade ceased, Malleus had wandered off, his feet eventually carrying him to the Savannah Claw dorm mirror. Once there, he concealed his presence, and found himself a tree within the boundaries of Leona's den, in line of sight of the sleeping lion's open-walled bedroom. He was subtle. He kept his distance and went undetected. When the king of the Aftergow Savannah showed up, Malleus was already as a statuesque gargoyle, blending in with the scenery by merit of his stillness. He remained a silent, unseen observer as events unfolded.

He watched the brothers fight, watched them sleep for a time...and then he watched them mate. Never before had Malleus seen anything quite like it. The two powerful lions, each a force to be reckoned with, were exquisitely beautiful in each and every motion. There was a tension there that Malleus could not decipher so easily until afterward, as the two talked. Of course. They were brothers, after all. How tragic. It was clear that their feelings for one another ran deep. When he was with his brother, Leona was like a different person, and that person glowed in Malleus' eyes.

*

"Hand me the yarrow."

"Don't order me around."

Keeping half an eye on the consistency in the simmering cauldron, Malleus gave Leona a wry look.

"If you paid enough attention that I didn't need to ask, I wouldn't have to," he pointed out, dryly.

Leona scoffed. "Why bother? Aren't you the great Malleus Draconia? You could brew this potion with your eyes shut, so what do you need my help for?"

Too aware of the volatile nature of the concoction he was slowly stirring, Malleus chose not to rise to the bait. "Tears of Chronos are tricky. The timing has to be precise. Even I need the assistance of someone I trust to carry out the final steps successfully."

After the words were out, Malleus resisted the urge to wince. He hadn't meant to advertise his high opinion of Leona so bluntly. What was wrong with him?

He was still rocked by all he had witnessed, that was what. Two fierce, male lions, both alphas among their kin, yet Leona had submit relatively easily to both emotional and physical domination. It was an intriguing conundrum.

That, of course, was the less shocking point of Malleus' observation. After all, the king of the Savannah was Leona's older brother. 

The concept of two siblings engaging in intercourse was one Malleus understood to be taboo. He had learned as much from Lillia's ramblings about his visual novel game simulation thingies. It was supposed to be the most illicit of relations, that denoted low moral character yet appealed to those who were secretly perverted. Such intimacy between them must be as taboo among therians as it was among the fae—or any other peoples that Malleus knew of. 

Malleus didn't think Leona was secretly perverted. He also did not judge Leona to be someone of low moral character. Yet, the fact remained that Leona and his brother had once been lovers and now were again. Somehow, Malleus did not imagine this secret would relieve the strain that Leona shouldered―quite the opposite.

Embroiled in his thoughts, Malleus only realized belatedly that his slip of the tongue had not yet encountered any response. Leona seemed mildly stunned, and instead of yelling back, he stared at Malleus in silence. When at last he did speak, he was uncommonly subdued.

"Yeah... Sorry. Here. Yarrow."

Did Leona Kingscholar just apologize? He had certainly begun to show a change in behavior since the near-disastrous magic shift tournament. Malleus suspected he was trying harder to foster diplomacy for the sake of his brother's reputation―or perhaps to ward off unwanted prying by those he offended with his usual, gruff behavior. His unprecedented acceptance of the olive branch Malleus had just unintentionally extended proved he was changed, but Malleus was not certain it was for the better.

"Hello? Yarrow. Don't make me break it over your head!"

Of course, he was still Leona.

Malleus smirked. "Your head is much thicker than mine. If the recipe called for breakage, I'm sure I would ask you to do the honors."

When Leona puffed up like that, as if his every follicle was standing on end, Malleus wanted to reach out and soothe him down. It was difficult to resist the urge, but timing was essential in the brewing of this potion and the next step was imminent. He took the yarrow Leona was strangling and used it to stir―three times counter-clockwise, and once back the other way.

They made good partners when they weren't bickering. Though he seethed throughout the remainder of the work, Leona carried out his role as assistant perfectly and the potion came off without a hitch.

"Perhaps I should write your brother and formally request your hand," Malleus mused, sealing the stopper on the star-studded, tear-like, translucent concoction.

"Huh!?"

A crash drowned out Leona's shocked cry as the bottle he had been shelving fell straight to the floor. It was acidic in large doses and began gnawing pits into the stone. Malleus hurried to help clean it up before the damage accumulated, but his glove was worn through and a slight burn to his finger made him stop and stare.

"What are you doing!? Grab another bottle!"

"You're the one who dropped it," Malleus grumbled, hunting around for a spare container.

"You're the one who just randomly threatened to write to Farena, asking to marry me!" Leona shouted, using his magical pen to siphon up the corrosive liquid.

Frowning, Malleus handed him the slightly smaller vial he had found. Not all of the liquid was salvageable so it should be large enough.

"It wasn't a threat," he clarified.

"Obviously. But it wasn't a funny joke, either," said Leona absently, concentrating on his delicate task.

"I wasn't joking," Malleus said softly, hurt by Leona's reaction. He understood that Leona was already in love, but that man was his brother. If he married Malleus, he, too, would one day become a king, and he would be on equal footing with King Farena. It had seemed like a good solution. They worked well together, and Leona was of royal blood and skilled in magic. He was also very appealing to Malleus...but apparently Malleus was not so appealing to Leona. 

In response to that serious statement, Leona almost dropped the new vial, but caught it awkwardly and placed it safely on the shelf before catastrophe could strike twice. "That's absurd," he said, mildly, backing away from the carefully placed vial. "You can't marry me. I'm a man."

Malleus cocked his head, confused. "But you are attracted to men, as I am."

"That's... How do you...? That's not the point! You're a crown prince! How can you marry a man who can't give you an heir!?"

Ah. Yes, Malleus recalled that this was an important criteria for royal progression among the therians. It was a cultural issue, then. He laughed. 

"My heir can be got on any of the faerie folk I so choose. Our lineage is one of magical blood right, not nobility. Otherwise, how would I marry who I love when I love men?"

Today was a day for slips of the tongue, it seemed. Malleus froze, eyeing Leona warily for signs of rejection.

As it was, the therian didn't seem to comprehend that Malleus had just stated that he wished to marry for love―and had essentially proposed to Leona, implying feelings of love for Leona. In fact, the therian prince did not seem to have taken his proposal seriously at all. It had been a wayward thought to begin with, but Malleus did not vocalize thoughts lacking in conviction. Marriage to Leona would be welcome indeed―but only if Leona felt the same.

"Ha. Go ahead and write to Farena if you want. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of it."

As they finished cleaning up, Malleus considered having Silver pen the draft. He seemed more proficient at diplomatic endeavors than Sebek. Seeing as Leona didn't mind if he tried his hand, he thought that he just might.

*

The days were long on the plains, and the nights short, but twilight lingered with a magical aura that wove a charm upon Leona. In many ways, Farena was the day, and he the night, and in the haze of twilight, they became one.

As they had done when they were younger, the two brothers escaped the confines of the palace and ran wild together across the rolling plains, eventually collapsing in the grass in tired ecstasy. They did not remain weary for long, though, each catching the scent of the other's sweat and musk. Each growing more restless and aroused with every passing moment until they could not go another second without sampling one another.

"You've been away too long," Farena groaned into the crook of Leona's neck as they rocked together, erections grinding and sliding maddeningly.

"I have school. I can't just sit at your feet, waiting for a fuck."

"Why not? Hurry up and graduate," Farena growled. Yet, in spite of Leona's provocative language, his expression softened. "I miss you."

"Save it. I'm here now, aren't I?" Leona tried to push Farena's head down toward his chest. The temptation to give his brother an earful was eclipsed only by the heightened sexual frustration boiling in his veins. He had arrived home only to be turned away by aides, put to work by officials, saddled with Cheka by Farena's wife, and then actively avoided by Farena himself. He had finally forced himself into Farena's sphere by using the crown prince's innocent charm and tears, and even with Cheka on his lap, the heat rose quickly between the two brothers. At last, they were alone, and Farena's temporary amnesia had evaporated in the steamy kisses Leona had immediately sought. "You better not be regretting a damn thing as long as I'm in your arms."

The pressure of teeth clamping around his nipple made Leona hiss and stretch. The warm, wet flick of Farena's tongue made his skin spark like flint igniting.

"Fuck," Leona gasped. "I've missed you, too." He could never withhold the truth from Farena for long.

He loved nothing more than to look down and see Farena's warm, reddened hair against the earthen hue of his skin, and to feel it slide across his belly, causing tremors. Even as he kissed his way across to Leona's peaked, aching left nipple, jealous with abandonment, Farena reached down between his thighs to pull his cock into place at Leona's cheeks.

"I regret not being buried in you, as deep as I can go," murmured a deep, rough voice, thick with need.

Hearing the perfect, caring, beloved king―the exemplary elder brother―he secretly admired talk dirty just for him overloaded Leona's capacity to respond. He grunted noncommittally a moment before Farena shoved his way in and slammed home with brute force.

It hurt, more than usual, but the initial rush gave way to pause as Leona's body arched and strained. Farena rubbed his face against Leona's sweaty cheek affectionately, his ears twitching between Leona's clenched fingers. The king's tail flicked lazily, but his body was still and poised, muscles tense.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"Shut up," Leona groaned.

"Sorry."

"Shhh..."

Breathing deep, Leona focused on Farena's scent. It was the scent of the pridelands. He'd never realized before how much that scent both calmed and energized him. He was startled by a touch to his ears, but when Farena began to stroke them soothingly, his whole body started to relax, and a deep purr rose up through his chest.

His body adjusted, and he shifted slightly, purring harder as he felt Farena's full length, heavy within him. He clenched experimentally, and then relaxed.

"Move," he growled.

"Don't command me," the king snapped, making Leona bare his teeth.

Farena kissed him then, dominating his mouth until he breathed only at his brother's reprieve. Then, when he was starving for air, Farena rocked―gently, at first, but gaining in momentum until he was driving Leona into the earth with brutal force and precision.

"Stop!" Leona gasped.

He was shuddering, his body overwhelmed. It was all a bit much. Something was out of balance. Farena wasn't himself. He was...possessive. That wasn't new, exactly, but he wasn't usually jealously so. He usually had a confidence about him that naturally tempered Leona's willful nature. Now, that confidence seemed shaken.

Gathering his strength, Leona pressed his weight upward and used his legs to lever them into flipping positions. Farena throbbed inside of him and the new angle made him see a multitude of stars that weren't out yet in the sky above.

From this new position of power, Leona rode to his own, selfish rhythm, reminding his brother that he wasn't just another subject to be ordered about. When a thick, callused palm curled about his length and began to pump, Leona's thighs tensed and his breath hitched. He braced himself on Farena's chest and rode unerringly to a spectacular climax.

He felt the molten heat as Farena let go with a loud groan and his own hips twitched with one last spurt in reaction. He sat there, slumped and panting, as the sun dipped below the horizon and a cool breeze tickled his damp skin.

"You look...majestic," Farena breathed.

"Flattery won't absolve you," Leona grunted, easing himself free of the limp mess in his ass. "I'm outta here. This was a mistake."

Grabbing his wrist as he rose, Farena pulled Leona off balance, bringing him crashing down, hissing and frustrated.

"It's not flattery. You're beautiful―even more so because I love you."

"Idiot. Flattery can be true, you know. Doesn't mean your're forgiven."

Farena's hand came up to hold Leona by the back of the neck, a sobering touch that was both intimate, and authoritative.

"Leona, I sent for you because there is official state business we must discuss," explained the king.

Sulking, Leona avoided eye contact. "Oh, yeah? That why you avoided me all day?"

"Yes... In part," agreed Farena, surprising him. "Sometimes, matters of the state can also be personal and this... It's rather sensitive, so I'd rather discuss it while we're able to be alone together like this."

"Yeah? What is it?" A memory of something Malleus had said tickled Leona's memory. "Some spoiled princess looking for a handsome, royal stud?"

"Leona... Marriage between royals is a matter of status and prestige." Farena's tone was so stern and controlled that it was immediately obvious Leona had hit the nail on the head. "A king's duty is to get an heir upon a queen, no matter his personal feelings...or his sexuality...or—"

His hackles raised, Leona's response was harsh and angry. "You think I don't know that!? Don't worry, I've had the perfect example flaunted in front of me for long enough."

Farena sighed, looking sad, rather than combative, and giving Leona pause. "You knew this was coming eventually. Do you have to make everything so damn difficult?"

"I did not know!" Leona snapped, lying. "We have a million other brothers with plenty of blue blood to spare! Why should I go off and marry some bitch and throw my heart in the trash to be a good husband and dad when all I want is to be with you!?"

In spite of it all, Leona regretted his cruel words. Farena had done all of those things, and yet... He was a good husband, and a good father, and his wife... Well, she wasn't that bad, really. Still, the words struck a spot that was still tender, and Farena shrunk back a little, wounded.

He closed his eyes. "Hear me out." When his eyelids slowly parted, the mesmerizing green of his irises caused a shiver down Leona's spine. He felt his resistance crumble.

"If I had a choice, I'd rather be deaf," he argued, weakly.

Farena ignored the token protest. "There is one royal line that treats the rules of succession a little differently―a realm where a king may take a husband, rather than a wife, if that is his preference."

That sounded familiar, but this wasn't the time for fairy tales. How bad was this pampered princess who wanted Leona's sperm if Farena was stalling so blatantly?

"Just get to the point. Who is she?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you... I've received a formal, written proposal for your hand from your classmate at Nightraven... Malleus Draconia." 

He didn't.

He did.

That maniac.

"It's not a bad deal. At least, not for you. From what I hear, Malleus is attractive, and highly accomplished, and he must be interested in you if he's proposing like this. Unless..." Farena suddenly grew timid, licking his lips to stall as a blush infused his royal cheeks. "Have you...? Are you...and he...already...?"

"Idiot," Leona muttered, wishing he had it in him to rub a little salt into open wounds. "I stopped screwing around the moment you took me back."

"Oh... Well, then." Farena cleared his throat. "He seems to be a very proper young man, if his letter is any indication. What do you think...? It's not going to be an easy proposal to turn down, but if he's violent, or nasty, or you hate him..."

Why did he have to sound so damn hopeful? If Leona just lied and said he loathed Malleus, this would all be over. After all, it wouldn't entirely be a lie. Malleus had been an appropriately figurative thorn in his side ever since his first crack at third year. Savanaclaw hadn't won a Magic Shift tournament since the fae prince had taken the helm of Diasomnia. It was infuriating. Still...

"I don't hate him... He's not violent―I don't think. And he's more rude than nasty, but no more than me, I guess, and mostly because he's an awkward loner... But...Farena..." For the first time since he had maneuvered himself on top, Leona let his vulnerability show, willing his brother to understand. "It's not any easier to marry a man who isn't you than it is to marry a woman. I love you. I don't want―"

Farena stood, abruptly, causing Leona to crash painfully onto his raw bottom. He folded his arms and began a short, pacing circuit.

"Then it's decided. I will meet formally with Prince Draconia before the contract is settled but I suspect it will be just that. A formality. This is for your own good, Leona. There won't ever be another offer like this, and eventually you'll have to accept one. I'm sure you don't realize this, but you're the most eligible prince in all the realms. You probably know I've been deflecting proposals for years—citing your graduation from Nightraven as the pre-requisite—but you can't stay in school forever, no matter how hard you try. So unless I deem this Malleus Draconia unsuitable when I meet him, I'm going to give him my blessing."

By the time Farena was done, Leona had gotten to his feet, cringing, and folded his arms defensively. There was a lot he wanted to interject during the rant, but as Farena continued, Leona realized that his brother had already given this a great deal of thought and his mind was more or less made up. He probably really thought he was doing this for Leona's sake, and that the logistical matters of alliances and dowry were incidental.

"I hope you hate his guts," Leona muttered. There was still that one hope, at least.

"Oh, I do. In fact, I selfishly wish he's a wet trout you couldn't find attractive in a million years," Farena responded with a frighteningly forced, toothy grin.

Of course he did. Farena would hate anyone who tried to claim Leona, on sheer principal. Leona just hoped that possessive behavior would work in his favor when the two met face to face. He didn't wish Malleus any harm...but he wasn't going to go meekly to the marriage bed, either—not as long as he had a love of his own.

"I'm going back to school," he announced curtly.

He wanted to argue, he truly did...but sometimes, Farena's regal bearing made him feel small and unworthy, and if he acted like a child in this, he would walk away feeling exactly that. Better to get away, to be alone.

Farena was in front of him in a heartbeat, and strong, muscled arms encircled him. "Stay a little longer," Farena breathed. "I hardly saw you all day."

"That was your fault!"

"It couldn't be helped... I knew that if I saw you, I would want you, and with so many people around, and so many duties to uphold... Please... Let us enjoy this time alone together a while longer."

Leona just bowed his head in defeat, butting it against Farena's shoulder. He wanted to be furious. He wanted to selfishly rail at the unfairness of it all. But he also wanted more time with Farena before it was too late and the dream evaporated. If he went back to school, angry and dissatisfied, he would regret it. And besides, he just might run into Malleus and commit an act of murder.

"Anyway, Cheka was excited to spend time with you. It would have been selfish to keep you all to myself," Farena murmured, mischief in every syllable.

"Be more selfish," Leona growled, reaching up to prick his claws into Farena's cheek, pulling those smirking lips to his to teach them a lesson on selfishness.

*

"You stay the hell away from me!" Leona snarled, dodging Malleus Draconia's outstretched hand.

The reaction was instinctive and instantaneous, primed over a day of bitter sulking. The tension had built up in Leona over the minutes and hours since his discussion with Farena, and he was teetering on the edge of a stress-fed explosion. Malleus was the trigger.

The fae's hand retracted with a snap, and he looked startled, but the expression quickly morphed into cold calculation. They were alone in the hallway, passing by each other coincidentally. Malleus had perked up at the sight of Leona and approached purposefully, asking if Farena had broken the news. He seemed to have gleamed his answer, and then some, from Leona's visceral reaction.

"Of course," he said softly, his hand dropping to his side. "You don't know."

"Know what!? There's nothing you can say that could―"

''Leona, I know that there is someone you're in love with," Malleus stated calmly, as if that explained everything.

It explained exactly nothing.

"You can't possibly..." Leona reeled. He didn't think Malleus was bluffing. It would be a ridiculous bluff to make in regards to Leona without some kind of proof or conviction. "Then why would you try to come between us!?" But how much did he know? Did he know who it was that Leona loved? It was a bone-chilling thought.

Malleus nodded, as if to signal that he had a reasonable answer to the reasonable question of why he would propose to a man who was in love with someone else.

"I also know that he is someone you cannot love openly. Even the fae frown upon such relationships."

He knew. He knew about Farena. He knew Leona was in love with his older brother, and maybe he even knew they were intimate.

Instead of exploding, the built up stress broke like a wave that freed Leona from the constraints of polite society against which he had always chaffed. He backed away, retreating from his fears and shaking his head.

"Fuck you, and fuck your fucking fae, and f―"

"I know you truly love him," Malleus said, in a tone so low it was utterly threatening. "And that he also loves you." He stalked forward, grabbing Leona around the waist before the flustered prince backed right into the wall. "I know that love has been difficult and lonely for you," he breathed. "I only want you to be happy..." Malleus' lips lingered on Leona's for a long, pregnant moment before the fae nodded in polite apology and took a graceful step back, putting an appropriate length of space between them. "Which is why I have no intention of coming between the two of you," he said, matter-of-factly. "He has a wife and child. There is no reason you cannot have a husband of your own as well."

Just like that? A marriage proposal, an explanation that he knew Leona loved his own brother, an appeal of sympathy, and then an announcement that he didn't really give a fuck? So, what, Leona and Malleus got married, and Malleus would just turn a blind eye to Leona fucking around with Farena? He really was a maniac.

It was too much to process, so Leona's mind turned to what it considered a more pressing issue. "Are... Are you spying on me!?"

Malleus cocked his head, his horns tipping at a slant that caught the light, causing a glimmer to snake down the sleek, black twists. "I believe Lillia would call it...stalking. I was curious. I did not mean to pry."

"You're unbelievable," Leona gasped, completely at a loss.

To his surprise, Malleus looked uncomfortable, frowning as he thought hard for a moment. "I can see I have caused you distress," he said. "I simply wanted you to know that I would not covet your freedom. I respect you, and I believe we could become close, and rule well together... I confess, I have more personal reasons...but I would not have proposed if you were in love with someone with whom you could share an equal and open bond. I thought...you might appreciate the convenience of my proposal, at the very least."

"There's nothing convenient about it," Leona whispered, his voice stripped from him by shock. He shook his head, swallowing. "Farena's... He's actually considering this... I'm not going to get a choice. If you go through with this, it's going to ruin everything."

"How so?" Malleus asked, again surprising with his lack of offense in response to such an accusation.

"Because I love him! Do you even understand what that means!? You say you don't want to come between us, but you already have! After years of hating him for ditching me to get married, I finally have him back, and now he wants to marry me off to someone I..."

Just in time, Leona stopped himself from blurting out a half-formed thought. Even he wasn't entirely sure of what he would have said. He only knew that it was too dangerous to say aloud. He clammed up, sagging against the wall, as if bound to it by Malleus' presence, alone.

"Do not worry. I will make it clear to King Farena that I do not begrudge him your affections. Once he understands that—"

"That's not the problem!" Leona shouted, finding his voice and overcompensating. 

Just as he did, a pair of students from Octavinelle rounded the corner, casting wary glances at calm, menacing Malleus and loud, angry Leona.

Malleus gazed at the pair from under his lashes, then promptly chose to ignore them, dipping his head in another bow to Leona. "I seem to have miscalculated. I will give the circumstances some more thought. But Leona..." The hurried passers-by disappeared around the far bend. "There is one thing I must make clear to you... I do understand what it means to love. It is because I care for you that I will not withdraw my proposal so easily. All I ask is that you bear in mind that it does not come easily to me to concede such liberty to the man with whom I would spend my life."

Just as Malleus shifted to the right, to continue on his way, Leona's body overrode his brain. His hand reach out of its own accord, and his tongue formed words that didn't yet make sense to him.

"You're serious," he said. "You really...want to marry me."

Malleus paused, frowning. "Of course. Why else would I send a formal proposal?"

"No, I mean, you... You're not just screwing with me, or being practical...or trying to do me a favor... Malleus... Do you actually like me?"

By way of answer, Malleus closed in again, and effortlessly slipped past Leona's comfort zone, taking his cheek in hand. As his lips approached, Leona froze, both panicking and strangely calm. He accepted the kiss for what it was—an answer... A promise.

For Leona, it meant that there was a lot to think about.

*

A short while later, sequestered in his room in favor of attending a flying class that would prove painfully uncomfortable under the current circumstances, Malleus hung onto the upper frame of his canopied bed as he jerked desperately into his hand. The feel of Leona's lips and tongue, and those sharp, carnal teeth scratching his lip, still so fresh and vivid in his mind, was driving him to madness. He still remembered in detail everything he had witnessed between the two brothers, and with the scent and feel of Leona imprinted on his mind, he focused on that memory, remaking it into something new and exciting. Grunting, he swiped his thumb over the weeping head of his cock and shook his hair back, the feel of it around his face and neck teasing his sensitized skin.

He imagined Leona's rough, windswept, and plaited hair on his skin...combined with Farena's thick, softer-looking mane... He imagined two ferocious sets of teeth biting down on his flesh, around his nipples, on his hip bone, his ass cheek... He imagined Leona inside of him...and Farena buried within Leona in turn...

His grip slipping, Malleus fell forward onto his bed, clawing at the sheets with one hand while his other continued to work his aching, swollen length. He could almost feel everything he imagined—so much so, that his own touch was almost obsolete. He came, all but sobbing with dry eyes at the though of Leona positioned behind him, filling him, as his trembling thighs fought to keep him from sliding to the floor.

Malleus rarely masturbated. Sebek, and sometimes Silver, were all too keen to service his physical needs. Yet, the intensity of this orgasm was well worth the effort.

Rolling onto his back as his sweat began to cool and lethargy swept his muscles, Malleus was still engaged in the fantasy. Leona, still thrusting into him, would bite his shoulder as Malleus gasped out a confession of his love.

Chuckling, Farena would lean over to take Leona's chin in his hand, holding it steady for a possessive kiss that put Malleus in his place. Leona, nearing his limit, would pull away and press himself tightly against Malleus' back as he lost control of his hips. 

"Cum for me, if you love me so much," Leona would grunt...

Rapidly regaining his stamina, Malleus began stroking again, thrusting his hips up for even greater friction. He pumped hard and fast, biting down on his knuckle.

"Yes, little lizard... Cum for him," Farena would encourage. "Cum for us. Show me you love him more than I do."

With a strangled yell, Malleus came again, his neck, abs, thighs, and everything between straining until he dissolved into shudders, a much thinner fluid than before seeping over his stroking fingers. Exhausted and feeling amazing, Malleus spread his arms across the bed and panted, still seeing Leona and Farena in his mind's eye.

Lillia would be ashamed of him for imagining such things...but Malleus didn't care. He was in love with Leona, and that meant he had to accept Leona's love for Farena...so he would just have to learn to love Farena, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy Malleus getting involved just as much as the Fare/Leo. I know I do. ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Join me at https://discord.gg/83pPzaZ a Twisted Wonderfic community! 
> 
> Discuss your favorite pairings, hear first-hand about updates, see teasers, promote your own work, check references, bask in your ships, get game tips, and more!


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